Hunter's War
by HallowedRider
Summary: The wasteland is a very much unknown entity in the world of remnant, and the inhabitants are just as unknown. So when a team of four hunters make it through the Grimm infested forest that borders the capital city of Vale, it is safe to say that many are uneasy. The four hunters' mysterious background intrigues team RWBY and the they quickly take to the newcomers. KingdomHearts/RWBY
1. Arrival

The Hunter's festival loomed ever closer as Vale prepared eagerly for the influx of visitors and tourists that the celebration would bring to their city. People arrived by the dozens via sea and air, all of them traveling as they were to avoid the certain death that awaited them in the forests. The walls of Vale stood tall and impassable against the edges of the forest where the Grimm lived, awaiting their chance to feast on the flesh of the inhabitants. The walls were lined with rows of roving guards, experienced hunters all, who were keeping a keen watch for any sign of an attack by the dark creatures of the White Fang.

One late afternoon one such hunter was roving the wall when four black hooded figures emerged from the woods below. He peered down at them, hardly believing that anyone would dare transverse the woods with such a high concentration of Grimm lurking within. Yet these hooded figures seemed unscathed in the least, indeed they seemed completely at ease. Only two of them had any visible weapons, one wielding a massive broadsword across his back and the other with two longswords strapped across his. "You there!" The guard challenged, gripping his trident in the event that these four proved to be trouble. "What are you here for?"

"This is Vale right?" A light-hearted male's voice responded. "We're here for the Hunter's festival."

"The Festival?" The guard asked, surprised. Most of the hunters competing in the events had arrived some weeks earlier and were already welcome sights around Vale. Besides, none had arrived via a land route. It was widely viewed as suicide for all but the most experienced hunters. "What academy are you from?"

"We aren't from an academy." The man called, quickly becoming annoyed. "We are from the wastelands."

The guard was instantly on his guard even more than he had been several seconds before. The wastelands were areas of the world that were widely considered uninhabitable. The Grimm that dwelled there were as ancient as Vale itself, and their hunger was just as ravenous. The few people who lived out there were considered dangerous at best and deadly at worst. The capitals had tried to reach out to these people and offer them a place in the relative safety of the civilization, but all such efforts had been in vain. Often the emissaries sent to these people did not return, but whether they fell to the dark beasts or the inhabitants of the wastelands was anyone's guess. "What do your kind want here?" The guard demanded, pointing the prongs of his trident at the four.

A gentle hand clapped the guard on the shoulder, startling him thoroughly. "Now, now." Headmaster Ozpin chided gently, moving past the guard to peer down at the four. "No need to be rude."

"You're Headmaster Ozpin." The voice called again. "My name is Axel. This is Cloud, Roxas, and Raziel." Axel quickly gestured to each of the group as he introduced them.

"You said you were here for the Festival, correct?" Ozpin inquired. "May I ask why you chose the land route? Surely it would have been faster to travel via air or sea."

"The other cities wouldn't let us in. So we walked." Axel pulled back his hood revealing a mass of red spiky hair. "It wasn't that bad, just took a little while."

"Sir, they are waste landers. The other cities made the right choice! You know what people say about them." The guard whispered urgently.

"They are children." Ozpin chided the guard again. "They have done nothing to deserve our distrust."

The four hunters waited patiently for the exchange to be finished. "You should be aware that if you are to join in the Festival, you will be required to attend classes like the other hunters as they wait for the Festival." Ozpin informed them. "I will not tolerate any misbehavior from any of my students whilst they are here. Am I clear?"

"Oh, absolutely." Axel agreed, waving a hand unconcernedly. "We'll be on our best behavior."

A sudden crashing sound resounded through the forest as several trees were cut in half by an unknown creature. Ozpin and the guard gave a shout of alarm as a Deathstalker burst through the foliage and made a mad dash towards the four. "Run!" Ozpin cried, pressing a button with his crane that descended a rope ladder from the wall.

Axel glanced back to the hunter with two swords strapped across his back and grinned at him as the red haired man sauntered towards the wall. "You got it, Raziel?"

Raziel made a sound of disparagement as he faced the Grimm. "This won't take more than a second." The hooded man said, drawing a single sword and striding towards the rapidly advancing scorpion-like creature. The Grimm hissed in apprehension of the meal to come and struck forward with its barb, the golden weapon flashing deadly in the midday sun. Raziel sidestepped the attack and cut off the stinger with a single strike. The Grimm hissed and tried to scuttle back but the hunter was there, cutting and slashing away at the creature with abandon. A few moments later, Raziel was striding away as the creature began to dissolve into nothingness. His companions had already joined Ozpin and the guard on the wall and were enjoying the amused expression of Ozpin and the stunned expression of the guard.

"Well, that was skillfully done." Ozpin observed, offering a hand to Raziel. "Welcome to Vale, Raziel."

The hunter took the hand, throwing off his hood and smiling at the surprise that flashed across Ozpin's face. Raziel's hair was snow white and his complexion fair, but what had surprised the professor were his eyes. They were the eyes of a snake, down to the crescent like pupil and ice blue color. "It's a pleasure to be here." He said warmly, scanning the city as he shook the professor's hand. "Truly. We hear a lot about the capital cities from the others, but we thought it would be nice for a change of scenery."

"Were you planning on staying here for some time?" Ozpin asked curiously as he led the group away, leaving the guard to resume his roves.

"Haven't decided yet." Axel answered cheerfully, happily looking at the shops as he passed them. "We do need to visit a dust shop though."

"Oh, did you need to purchase dust?" Ozpin inquired. "The students are given a standard amount of money at the beginning of every…." His voice trailed off as Axel shook his head.

"We need to sell some of _our_ dust." Roxas explained, his hands behind his head as he walked. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a jet black dust crystal and tossed it to Ozpin who caught it deftly with one hand.

The professor examined the crystal with interest before shaking his head and handing it back. "It's a very fine crystal, but I am afraid that it won't sell for very much." He said, slight apologetic notes creeping into his voice. He stopped suddenly and turned towards a shop with dust advertised in the window. He strode inside and greeted the old man who sat behind the counter. The four followed behind him and groaned as one as they beheld the magnificent collection of dust amassed before them. "You see?" Ozpin said, smiling at them.

"This is a lot of dust…" Axel admitted. "More than I've ever seen."

"Yes, we are quite proud of our collection." The old man said happily, thrilled with the praise. "We have every color and type of dust any respectable hunter could possibly want."

The door dinged open again and the man smiled in greeting. "Why hello there Ms. Rose." The man said, bowing low.

Raziel and the others turned to regard the newcomer and took a step back when his face came within centimeters of hers. She was shorter than all of them, garbed in a red hood and a black and red dress with silver eyes. She followed Raziel's step, peering interestedly at him. "Can I help you?" He asked, leaning back.

She only then seemed to notice Ozpin and beamed at the professor. "Oh, Professor!" She said happily. Raziel only then noticed that she had a weapon of some sort stored at the small of her back. Three other girls came through the door, presumably following the hyperactive black-haired girl. "Who are these guys? Oooh, are you here for the Festival too? I hope you are, are you?" She asked, darting among them and examining each of them.

They glanced amongst themselves, thrown by the eccentric greeting by the girl. A blond girl with gauntlets strode forward and seized her by her hood and dragged her back away from the four. "Sorry about that," She told them. "Ruby gets a little excited. But she's my sister so what are you gonna do?"

"Erm… Yes." Roxas said uncertainly. "It's fine."

Raziel scanned the newcomers before his eyes landed on a girl with green eyes and a bow on her head. His eyes narrowed and she quickly stepped out of the store, obviously distressed. Raziel made to follow, but a white haired girl barred his path. She crossed her arms and rested her weight on one leg while she glared at him. "Going somewhere?" She asked. She wore a rapier at her hip that had several jewels inlaid into a very bizarre looking hilt.

"Her." Raziel pointed at the retreating figure of the girl who had just left. "What's her name?"

" _That_ is Blake Belladonna. The young woman in front of you is Weiss Schnee, the woman with the blonde hair is Yang Xiao Long, and the one currently examining your swords is Ruby Rose."

Raziel turned around and once again came face to face with Ruby. "Your swords are amazing!" She gushed, disappearing from his sight only to end up behind him, reexamining his blades. "Can I see them?"

Roxas and Axel snorted and turned away to conceal their laughter and even Cloud broke his normal stoic nature with a lopsided grin which quickly vanished. "I like her." Axel declared. "She keeps Raziel on his toes."

"Well then," Ozpin said as his cane clicked against the floor. He walked to the entrance of the shop and turned around. "Team RWBY I am assigning you the task of ensuring that our newest participants in the Hunter's Festival are well seen too. Please show them around and prepare them for class tomorrow."

"Yes sir!" Yang said with an exaggerated salute. She seized Cloud by the arm and threaded hers through his. "We'll have them ready!"

"Very good." Ozpin nodded. "I have some business to attend to. Welcome to Vale Team….?"

"Arc." Axel supplied, "Team ARRC."


	2. First Class

"So this is Vale huh?" Axel asked, sitting on one of the academy's stone walls far above the ground. The day had been spent almost entirely being shown around by their guides, all except Raziel. He had excused himself very quickly and disappeared, presumably to chase after the black haired girl with a bow. None of the girls seemed to mind, and if they had they didn't say anything. "It's pretty nice here."

"It sure is calm." Roxas agreed from where he leaned against one of the stone pillars that supported the wall. "It will take some getting used to. What do you think Cloud?"

Cloud said nothing, he simply nodded as he gazed out at the city. He had left his sword back in the room that they had been given, the weight of the blade had actually broke the soft bed once he had placed it upon the sheets.

"Exactly." Axel agreed, apparently having understood some manner of response from Cloud's nod. "These people are really relaxed. Even the huntresses from earlier seem pretty happy at all times."

Cloud turned to him and raised an eyebrow in an appraising look. Axel shrugged in response and said, "I'm not saying that it's a bad thing. I'm just not used to it."

"You are being awfully chatty today Cloud." Roxas observed, a slight teasing note ringing in his words. "Maybe that blond girl with the gauntlets left a lasting impression on you?"

Cloud scowled in response and at the same moment Raziel vaulted up on the wall, his white hair announcing his presence like a beacon. "Was your day as intriguing as mine was?" He asked in manner of greeting as he crossed his arms. He could see each of his teammates perfectly, the night posing no problem to his vision. "I certainly hope so."

"Well, we saw a lot of Vale." Axel offered, stifling a yawn. "It's an interesting place. We were just saying how relaxed the entire city is."

"Well, _most_ of the city then." Raziel corrected with a sly grin. "Today was very informative for me. I got into contact with some of the local fauness. Do you remember that group that came to the wastelands a while ago?"

"Which one?" Axel snorted, but he had dropped his joking façade. Every one of them was deadly serious as they listened to their captain.

"The White Fang." Raziel looked to each of them, ensuring that they remembered the group. "The ones who wanted to hire some of us as mercenaries."

"Oh yeah." Roxas recalled. "Those guys. That guy in the white mask offered some pretty good terms too."

"He did." Raziel agreed. "That's the reason he actually managed to hire some. Otherwise they wouldn't have made it out of the wasteland. At least, not alive anyway."

Cloud spoke up for the first time. "I wasn't aware that anyone actually signed on with them." He said quietly. Waste landers were available for hire as mercenaries, assassins, or for Grimm extermination as the person with the money saw fit. But contracts were carefully handled ordeals to ensure that two people would not be set on the same contract. However, there was no rule regarding keeping them from taking opposing contracts. In fact often times Raziel had found that if one person with money hired a waste lander for a body guard, another person with money would hire an assassin to kill that other man. That was how life worked with them. You lived or died based on your contracts and your skill with a weapon. "Who did they manage to hire?"

"I don't know." Raziel said honestly. "I only know they managed to hire a dozen or so people."

"So what is the White Fang here for?" Axel asked, eager to get the conversation back to important matters.

"As far as I can tell they have been waging a guerilla war against the capital cities and Vale has been their most heavily sought after target. They have been recruiting fauness for several years here. Apparently the feelings of resentment from the last war have not quite passed over yet. The fauness here are treated very poorly by a lot of the population. It is breeding unrest amongst their numbers." Raziel informed them, pacing across the wall.

"'Their numbers'?" Axel repeated with a laugh. "What, you aren't going to count yourself among them? Not going to join the White Fang? Start some sort of rebellion?"

"The White Fang has already started a rebellion." Raziel said. "And sure, I'll join them. If they pay me very well."

The four shared a quiet laugh and lapsed into silence for several hours until the sun peeked up from behind the horizon. "Hey!" A voice called up at them from the base of the walls. They glanced down and saw a familiar girl with silver eyes waving up at them. "Are you guys stuck?"

Without a word the four hunters jumped off the wall and landed on the ground in front of Ruby with an easy grace. "Nah." Roxas said with a grin. "Just enjoying the sunrise. What's that you are wearing?" He gestured to the odd choice of clothes that she had chosen to wear that day.

"What? My uniform?" She glanced down at the clothes before cocking her head and studying the team in front of her. "Where's yours?"

"Ours?" Axel repeated uncertainly. "Why would we have one?"

"Because… they're required?" Ruby suggested slowly. She checked her watch and shrieked. "Oh no! We're going to be late to class! Professor Oobleck is going to be so upset!"

"Should we go then?" Raziel suggested. "I'm sure that they will forgive us for not having uniforms on our first day."

"I hope so." Ruby fretted. She turned around and sped off towards the school's entrance. As she sped away Raziel smiled as he recognized her unnatural speed as a semblance. She paused at the entrance and waited impatiently hopping from one foot to the other for them to catch up. "Come on!" She encouraged, opening the door and dashing through so fast she temporarily vanished.

They continued this cat and mouse game for several stops until she finally led them into a classroom. The teacher at the head of the class seemed to vibrate with energy as he darted forward and confronted the tardy students. "Youarelatetoclass!" He declared in a voice so fast that team ARRC had to take a moment to separate the words into a sentence.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Axel apologized. "Lost track of time watching the sunrise."

"Youarethenewstudentscorrect?" The professor declared, zipping around them and examining their coats. "YesIsee. Iexpectyoutobeontimeformynextlesson. Pleasetakeyourseats." With a judgmental sip of his thermos he zipped back to the head of the class and waited for them to take their seats.

Ruby led them over to a nearly empty row of seats at which sat the rest of Team RWBY. Yang greeted them with a smile and a wave, Weiss glared at her leader and gave a noise of disparagement, and the final member of the team stared pointedly at their teacher. "Does he always speak that fast?" Roxas wondered as he reclined back in his seat and closed his eyes. "What's in that thermos anyway?"

Raziel chuckled under his breath which made Roxas open his eyes and stare into the face of the Professor who was inches away from Roxas's face. "Iwouldpreferifyouwouldstayawakeduringmyclass." The professor reprimanded him. He took another judgmental sip of his thermos and zoomed back to the front of the class. "TodaywewillbelearningabouttheFestivalandwhatitwillentail!" The professor announced excitedly. Or perhaps that was simply how he spoke when he lectured. Raziel wasn't entirely certain as the professor's rapid speech made it hard to be sure.

"So you're the new students eh?" A chirpy voice behind them asked before Raziel felt someone yank on one of his swords. He whirled around and saw an auburn haired girl struggling to lift one of his blades. A blond haired man to her left had his head in his hands, a form that a black haired man to her right was mirroring. "Nora, why don't you give him his sword back?" A red haired kindly looking woman suggested quickly. "I'm sure that he doesn't like anyone touching them."

"It's so _heavy_!" Nora pronounced happily, leaning forward and replacing the sword in its sheath. "Hi! I'm Nora! Who are you?"

Axel snorted and looked away, trying not to laugh until Nora seized his hood and brought it closer to examine. This in itself wasn't hurtful, however Axel suddenly found himself unable to breathe as his coat tightened against his neck. Cloud's hand shot out and grabbed Nora's wrist and fixed her with a serious look. She frowned unhappily but she released Axel's hood and sat back with a grumpy expression. Cloud turned back around and began to listen to the lecture.

"Sorry about that." The blonde man said through his hands. He lowered his hands and smiled apologetically. Raziel studied him curiously for a moment before glancing to Axel and raising a single eyebrow. Roxas had engaged Yang in conversation regarding their trip yesterday and was not currently paying attention to what was going on around them. After a quick silent exchange with Axel, Raziel confirmed what he had previously suspected. This blonde man had not yet discovered his semblance. It was clear from the aura that hung in the air loosely around him. Most aura users unconsciously developed character traits similar to their aura and semblance, or perhaps it was the other way around. A person's character and traits determined what their semblance would be. Nonetheless, this blonde haired man had obviously not discovered his semblance.

"It's fine." Raziel said airily with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I'm surprised that she could lift one of my swords. She must be a heavy weapon user."

There was a clicking sound and Raziel suddenly found a large hammer in front of his eyes. He gently pushed the weapon away from his face with two fingers and raised an eyebrow at the blond haired man. Nora beamed in pride as she compacted the weapon back into its gun form. "I have a hammer!" She announced a tad unnecessarily, sitting back in her seat.

" !" Oobleck called, appearing in front of the small group and staring down at her through his nearly opaque glasses. "Weaponsaretobeusedonlywhentheteacherstatesitisnecessary! Pleasestayafterclassforalecture!"

She groaned and banged her head on the desk as the professor zipped back to the front of the class and continued his teaching as though nothing had happened. The man with the ponytail patted her on the back sympathetically but said nothing as he continued to take notes of what the professor was saying. "I'm Jaune." The blonde man was saying as he extended his hand. "Jaune Arc. That's Ren, Nora, and Pyrrha." He indicated each of them in turn as he introduced them. Nora didn't say anything but remained with her forehead pressed against the desk in apparent woe of her situation. Ren smiled at them and nodded but continued his silent persona. Raziel found himself distractedly thinking that he and Cloud would have a very interesting conversation. Pyrrha smiled at them and offered Raziel a hand. He shook it just as his eyes narrowed. She was the direct opposite of Jaune. Simply by shaking her hand Raziel instantly knew that she had reached the upper ends of mastering her semblance. On top of that her relaxed ease and fluid motion spoke volumes about her skill as a fighter. Raziel smiled at her, but his smile was one of anticipation. She was someone whom he very much wanted to fight, and the sooner the better.


	3. Fight!

The Wastelanders immediately knew that the next class would be much more to their liking than history. A small arena was set below rows of elevated seats, the floor marked with occasional burn marks and small craters. Raziel exchanged grins with his team as they took their seats, all of them very much hoping that their suspicions would be confirmed. The teacher strode in promptly at the bell and took her place in the center of the arena. "I see we have four new students today." She said, her voice cold.

"Hello." Axel said with a carefree grin. "Happy to be here."

"Hm." She said, studying them individually for a moment each. "You _do_ know how to fight, correct?"

"On occasion." Axel replied.

She gestured down to the arena and said, "Well then, one of you may start this class off. Please, choose your opponent."

Axel got to his feet and rolled his shoulders in preparation. Raziel grabbed his friend's cloak and muttered, "Don't go all out. Not unless you absolutely need to in order to win."

"Oh don't worry." Axel laughed, striding away. "I shouldn't need to."

He sauntered down the row of seats and leapt onto the arena, landing easily. He turned back to the students in the class and looked over them with interest. "Hm…" He said as he searched. He sighed and gave an exaggerated shrug with a shake of his head. "I just can't decide. I'll fight anyone."

A gray haired man stood up and slowly made his way to the arena. He jumped down to the arena and smiled at Axel. "Sounds like fun." He said with a deadly serious smile.

Axel's eyes narrowed immediately, studying his opponent in his entirety. The greaves on his legs were clearly his principal weapon, but unlike the other students Axel could not begin to guess what his semblance was. "Aah, Mr. Black." The professor was saying, her riding crop in her hand as she crossed her arms and studied the match. "Very well, take your positions."

They made their way to the opposite sides of the arena and Mercury took a defensive stance, his feet spread shoulder length apart. Axel began to sway slightly, his grin growing slightly manic. Mercury frowned at his opponent as they began to slowly circle one another. "What?" He asked, an eyebrow raised. "No weapon?"

Axel laughed and wagged a finger at Mercury. "I doubt I will need it against you." He admitted, but he raised his arms to shoulder height. "But who knows? Maybe you will surprise me!"

In the stands, Raziel smiled as flames began to dance around Axel's outstretched arms. The temperature in the room began to rise very quickly and soon it was sweltering in the class room. Ruby hopped her seat over until she sat next to Raziel and asked, "What's going on?"

"Just watch." Raziel told her, gesturing towards Axel.

The flames around Axel's hands began to form a shape and soon two crimson red and snow white chakrams were held loosely in his hands. The flames seemed to drip like water from the chakrams although the fire vanished before it could hit the ground. Axel's swaying grew more pronounced, something that obviously unnerved Mercury. He made a sound of annoyance before leaping towards Axel with a savage kick aimed towards the red haired man's head. Axel threw one chakram towards Mercury and it connected with one boot. Mercury kicked the weapon away, landing in a crouch before swinging his legs around to aim for Axel's legs. The second chakram came down, spinning against the marble floor, and Mercury's attack was blocked. "Burn!" Axel roared with the same manic grin he had been wearing for the duration of the fight.

Mercury's eyes widened and he was only just barely able to catapult himself into the air as a pillar of flame sprang forth from the center of the circular blade. Had he not moved Mercury knew without a doubt he would have been incinerated. As he leapt into the air he heard something cutting through the air behind him just as Axel grinned. Mercury twisted his body and managed to take the brunt of the first chakram's return to his arms. Axel looked up and snapped his fingers and the pointed blades of the chakram began to burn, creating a spiraling flame that sent Mercury crashing away. The gray haired man slammed into an opposite wall and slid to the bottom, smoking and clearly unconscious.

"That's enough!" The professor declared, quickly making her way over to Mercury. Axel gave a disappointed sigh and shook his head. She pointed her riding crop towards Mercury and the burns on his arms quickly began to heal. Satisfied with this, she turned back to Axel and raised her riding crop threateningly. Axel summoned both chakrams back to his hands and raised an eyebrow. "You! That was far too dangerous. Were you intending to kill him?"

"If you aren't ready to die you shouldn't fight." Axel answered back savagely. The chakrams vanished and he shrugged. "I guess you capital people don't think like that."

Mercury's team carried him out of the arena and presumably to the medical office. "Perhaps one of your team mates should be taught a lesson in manners. Maybe that will teach you. Ms. Nikos, please join me on the stage if you will."

Professor Goodwich looked over the other members of Team ARRC before focusing on Raziel. "You." She said, motioning for him to join Pyrrha in the arena. Raziel got to his feet and smiled slightly as he dropped down into the arena.

Axel chuckled softly as he walked past Raziel. "Don't have too much fun." He whispered.

"I plan to." Raziel answered the same. He pulled one sword free, revealing a red and black blade. "I hope you are as good as I think you are." He called to Pyrrha who had drawn her sword/spear combination and shield.

Raziel let the tip of his sword drag the ground as they circled one another, an occasional spark flying up from the contact. Pyrrha attacked first, leaping forward and cutting at Raziel's chest. He stepped back and returned the blow, aiming for her exposed arm. He wasn't at all surprised when she brought her shield up to counter the attack, but he was surprised when his sword stuck to the shield for a moment. He was momentarily thrown off balance and nearly was knocked off his feet as she swung a retaliating blow to the back of his legs. He fell on to his back before pushing to his feet again and cutting a backhand towards his opponent, frowning as he worked out her ability. His backhanded cut passed by her harmlessly as she leaned backward. He felt his sword shake slightly and his sword continued traveling just slightly farther than he had intended it to. Only when he ripped his second sword from his scabbard was he able to stop Pyrrha's attack against him. The second blade was beautiful, the white and blue mixed blade seemingly at odds with the malevolent black and red sword.

As the match continued, Axel watched with interest as the second blade appeared. "Looks like Pyrrha has some serious fighting ability." He observed aloud. He glanced up the fighter's respective aura levels and saw that Pyrrha's was still nearly full.

"She's a world class fighter." Weiss said dismissively. "Your friend doesn't have a chance. I'm surprised he's managed to fight her for this long."

Axel's laugh seemed to annoy Weiss and intrigue Ruby. However it was Yang who asked, "I bet that this Raziel guy has some serious skills."

Axel raised an eyebrow as Pyrrha and his teammate exchanged a series of blows almost too fast for the eye to follow. "I've never seen him lose." Axel said when he realized that they were waiting for a response of some sort. "The problem with Raziel is that he doesn't like using his semblance otherwise this would already be over."

"Did you not hear me?" Weiss asked irritably. "Pyrrha is a world class fighter. Your friend might be strong but she is stronger."

Axel stared her down for a long minute before he said, "If Raziel uses his semblance here, she dies." He said bluntly. "I've only seen him use it once. It nearly leveled a mountain."

"Whoa." Ruby said, her eyes filled with awe. "I wanna see it!"


	4. One-Winged Angel

The fight had been going on for what seemed like ever and both fighters were feeling the effects. Pyrrha's aura had been reduced much more significantly than Raziel's had but even he was quickly tiring. They squared off once again, both of them breathing hard. Raziel grinned across the arena at his opponent and called, "You aren't too bad. I didn't think that this would take this long."

"You aren't too bad yourself!" Pyrrha called back with a smile. "I haven't had a fight this good in a very long time."

"I appreciate that." Raziel said, straightening from his stance. "But I am going to wrap this up."

Pyrrha frowned and brought her shield up a fraction of an inch. Raziel took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "Allow me to show you," Raziel said, shrugging off his coat and revealing a simple black T-shirt. " _My_ semblance."

Instantly every one of the wastelanders were paying rapt attention to the match, leaning forward in their seats they abandoned their conversations. "Looks like this is going to get interesting." Roxas breathed, watching intently.

"I guess this Pyrrha girl is better than we thought." Axel agreed.

On the stage Raziel's aura seemed to be growing in pressure and volume. With a sudden grin he snapped his eyes open and exhaled a breath he had been retaining. The aura around them suddenly stilled and vanished all at once. In its place a beautiful white wing had sprouted from Raziel's right shoulder. His shirt had been torn off by the appearance of the wing, and he now stood with his chest bared before Pyrrha. She drew in a shocked breath at the same time everyone in the class did. The blue and white blade had vanished during the appearance of the wing and now Raziel stood with only the black and red blade clutched in his grip. He flexed his wing, enjoying the familiar feel of the feathered limb. "What is-?" Pyrrha began to ask, but she wasn't able to finish as Raziel was suddenly in front of her.

The blade seemed to gleam with a savage light as it crashed into Pyrrha's shield and sent her flying back. She skidded to a halt her eyes widening in surprise as Raziel pressed his attack, slashing at her exposed right side. It was clear that his attack would land, even with her semblance pushing away the sword. At the last possible moment the floor beneath his feet shuddered and then flew upward, sending him careening into the air. His wing spread out to its full length and he floated in the air as he considered this unexpected development. "That's enough!" Professor Goodwich said firmly as she strode onto the battlefield. Her riding crop was directed towards the broken floor which quickly reassembled itself. Raziel drifted to the ground and touched down lightly. He folded his wing back against his back and glared at the huntress.

"You ruined my fight." He accused.

"The fight was over." The professor disagreed, ending the conversation. "Return to your seat."

"That was a good fight." Pyrrha told him, striding forward and offering him a hand. "I think that you would have beaten me had the professor not interfered."

Raziel shook the hand just once before shuddering as his wing seemed to dissolve into nothingness. The white and blue sword reappeared in Raziel's hand at the same moment that the wing vanished and Pyrrha took an automatic step back. "It was a good fight." He agreed, rolling his shoulder experimentally. "Man, I hate that feeling." He complained as he picked his coat up off the ground.

He set his swords through the sheath built into the leather of the coat. He turned around and leapt onto the raised seating, returning to sit next to his team. He was about to sit down when he felt someone tug on his coat. Jaune was looking at him with eyes filled with awe. "Can I help you?" Raziel asked after a moment of silence.

"You have wings?!" Jaune asked, his voice just as awestruck as his eyes. "That's so cool! Can I see them?"

Team ARRC made a simultaneous noise of choked off laughter which they immediately cut off when Raziel fixed them with a malevolent stare. He returned his gaze to Jaune and smiled apologetically. "Sorry Jaune," He said clapping a hand to the blond haired man's shoulder. "I don't like showing off."

"Aww," Jaune pouted as he sat down.

"Settle down, settle down." Professor Goodwich called as she moved to the center of the arena and crossed her arms. "Alright, so as _most_ of you are aware tomorrow you will each take missions by yourselves. You will not have an escort on these missions. You may choose any mission that you have the clearance to accept, but be warned. You are on your own for this. Class dismissed."

"So what now?" Axel asked Ruby, Team ARRC following RWBY out of the classroom.

"Actually right now that's it." She said checking her watch. "Classes have been really lenient since everyone started getting here for the Festival. What do you guys want to do?"

Cloud tapped Raziel on the back and nodded back to the classroom they had just left. "I was thinking the same thing." Raziel agreed. "That was a good warm up, but I want to have some fun."

"Whatcha talking about?" Yang inquired.

"We're going to head out to the forest." Raziel explained. "Hunt some Grimm."

"I don't think we are allowed to do that…" Ruby said slowly. "They are really strict about that sort of stuff."

"It's not a big deal." Roxas said easily, "We'll be back in a few hours. Just need to cut loose a little bit."

"Can we go?" Blake asked suddenly, breaking her silence.

Raziel frowned at her for a moment before shrugging. "I don't see why not." He told her. "Just don't expect us to wait for you to keep up."

"Don't you worry about us." Yang said, straightening her gauntlets and tossing her blonde mane back and forth. "We can handle anything you do."

"That I very much doubt." Cloud said quietly, leading the way out of the school. "We'll wait for you outside the gates."


	5. Challenge

They were making their way through town, their small group of eight. Team RWBY had insisted that they change out of their school uniform before they departed on their training exercise so it was much later than Raziel had originally intended it to be when they departed on their training mission. "This is going to be so much fun!" Ruby said eagerly, randomly darting ahead of the group before returning moments later.

"Would you stop causing such a scene?" Weiss snapped, glancing around to make sure that no one was paying them any attention. "We could get in trouble for this!"

"In trouble for what?" A man with a tail asked as he dropped from the rooftops above them. Instantly he had a blade at his throat, courtesy of Raziel. "Whoa, whoa!" He said holding up his hands to gently push away the sword.

"Hey Son!" Ruby greeted. A few moments later a man with blue hair landed on the ground next to Son, though his entrance was far less graceful. "And Neptune!"

"Hey." The blue haired man said, rubbing his backside as he got to his feet. "Sorry to drop in. Who are these guys?" He nodded to Team ARRC.

"Just some people here for the tournament." Axel said easily.

"They are so cool!" Ruby told them. "They're waste landers!"

Raziel had expected some sort of reaction from them, so when they both took a large step back he only smiled at them. "Pleasure to meet you." Raziel told them.

"Yeah…" Son said, watching them suspiciously through narrowed eyes. "Same to you."

"Its fine, Son." Blake said, striding forward and laying a comforting hand on his shoulder. "They won't cause any trouble."

"Well, not any more than three Faunus can get into." Raziel said with a laugh. He noticed the suddenly stricken expressions that the group seemed to share at once save for the waste landers. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Three Faunus?" Yang repeated with a forced laugh. "I mean, I know Son is a Faunus obviously but who else here-?"

"Blake." Raziel said simply. "And me."

"How did you know?" Blake demanded, grabbing onto Raziel's coat desperately. "Did you tell anyone?"

"I kind of guessed when I saw your eyes and your bow that you never seem to take off." Raziel shrugged. "And no, I haven't told anyone."

Son was slowly circling Raziel, searching him. "You are a Faunus?" Son asked skeptically.

Raziel sighed and shrugged off his coat. Roxas's hand snapped out and grabbed Raziel's wrist. "Not here." He told him, "Wait until we are outside the gates. That way you don't have to use it more than you need to."

"Good point." Raziel agreed, shrugging his coat back on. "Speaking of which we should probably be going."

He set off down the road with his team following close behind and, after a moment, Team RWBY and the two newcomers joined them. "Where are you going?" Axel heard Neptune inquire.

"To the forest for some training." Yang said, "We're going to have a little fun."

"I'm down for a little Grimm hunting." Son said immediately. "Mind if we tag along."

"What do you think, Raziel?" Ruby asked, glancing sidelong to the waste landers.

"Just don't slow us down." Roxas answered in his stead. "We like to make it a competition."

"A competition?" Yang asked eagerly. "How?"

They stopped at the gate as a guard moved to stand before them, a dust infused spear held at the ready. "What's your business?" He asked roughly, slamming the butt of his weapon down on the stone road.

"We are going to go into the forest for some training." Axel answered, stepping forward. "We're students from a different academy."

"The gates are about to close for the night." The guard told them, "All incoming traffic is about to be halted. If you leave now you wouldn't be able to come back this way."

"That's not a problem." Axel told him, striding past the guard without a second thought. "This is a training opportunity after all."

"Now hang on," The guard said, throw by this dismissal of danger. "I should call Headmaster Ozpin and see what he has to say- HEY!"

Team ARRC didn't bother waiting for him to finish speaking, walking through the gates without another word to the guard. After a tension laden second team RWBY, Neptune, and Son followed behind them. The guard swore and ducked into a room built into the stone wall, presumably to alert the Headmaster as to what had just transpired. "You ready?" Roxas said, pushing a hand into one of his cloak's pockets and withdrawing a jet black crystal.

"Let's get away from the gate first." Raziel answered, pulling off his coat and hanging it on a low hanging tree branch. "I don't want the guards getting caught up in this."

"What's that?" Weiss demanded, pointing to the crystal Roxas held in his hand. "I've never seen a dust crystal like that."

"I doubt you would have." Axel agreed, flames dancing around his hands. "It's a very rare piece of dust. Most people haven't seen them because of where they are formed at."

"Which is where?" Weiss asked.

"In Grimm hives." Roxas said, tossing the crystal into the air fondly. "These seem to manifest wherever large quantities of Grimm are found. They aren't easy to get because they attract Grimm like catnip. Most people don't really want that."

"Why do you have it?" Yang wondered.

"Because hunting Grimm gets really old. Besides, this makes things interesting." Axel laughed. They walked for a long time into the wood, dispatching the few Grimm they encountered along the way with relative boredom. "Think we are far enough?"

"Should be far enough." Raziel said, squinting at the horizon. They still had about two hours left of daylight, which was plenty of time as far as the waste landers were concerned. "Do it, Roxas."

Raziel drew his swords and rolled his shoulders in anticipation. The flames around Axel's hands solidified into his crimson red and snow white chakrams and he began to sway in place. Cloud reached over his shoulder and pulled free his massive sword from its resting spot on his back. The sword was not an impressive sight, wrapped in bandages as it was. Roxas put his hands out to his sides and two key-like weapons appeared in his hands. One was a black key and the other seemed a rainbow of bright colors.

Axel raised an eyebrow at Roxas. "Oathkeeper and Oblivion?" He asked nodding to the weapons. "That's a new combination."

"Figured it would be a good a chance as any." Roxas shrugged, cutting through the air with the keyblades. He tossed the black crystal in the air and aimed Oathkeeper at the dust. A single streak of electricity struck the crystal and caused it to shatter. A horrible keening wail seemed to fill the air around where the crystal had disintegrated and the woods suddenly were alive with the screams and roars of Grimm.

"Keep track of your kills." Raziel told team RWBY as they prepared their weapons. "The winner is the one with the most kills whenever the Grimm stop coming."

"You don't know how many are going to show up?!" Weiss demanded, turning in place as growls surrounded them.

"Nope." Raziel said cheerfully. He looked to Son who was spinning a long staff around him and beckoned him over. "You wanted me to show you how I am a Faunus, right?"

Raziel didn't bother to wait for an answer. The white and blue sword vanished and the snowy white wing sprang forth from Raziel's back. Son whistled low and reached forward to touch the feathered appendage. Raziel flexed his wing and stepped back. "No touching." He chided.

The first of the Grimm sprang forth from the woods, a pack of Beowolves. From the opposite side, a group of Ursa lumbered into the clearing and roared at the hunters. Backing into a defensive circle, the hunters and huntresses prepared their weapons. The Grimm continued to appear until there seemed to be a huge amount in front of them. "Ready?" Raziel asked Team RWBY, Neptune, and Son.

"Don't get hurt." Yang said, cocking her gauntlets. A curious fiery aura seemed to be surrounding her hair.

Raziel laughed and shook his head. "That's my line. Go!"


	6. Aftermath

Just as the sun began to peek over the horizon the last Grimm was cut down where it stood. The group of ten hunters stood in silence for a moment, waiting to see if any more of their dark adversaries were hiding. It was a moot point however, the forest they had originally begun their training in had been reduced to a shadow of its former self. Craters in the earth, scorched land, and the remnants of more than a dozen trees littered their battlefield. "Well," Raziel said after the moment passed. He folded his wing and it disappeared a second later. "I guess that is that."

As if they had been waiting for some sort of signal that they had just received, the group dropped to the ground with a collective groan. "That was… more difficult than I thought it would have been." Axel admitted, his chakrams disappearing in a burst of flame.

"I'm so _tired_." Son said, "And hungry. It seemed like they were never going to stop coming."

The group muttered a collective agreement as they put away their various weapons. "I ran out of ammo about halfway through." Ruby told them. "I thought I was in trouble then. But I never really ran out of aura."

"That's Oathkeeper for you." Roxas said, admiring the keyblade before it gleamed brightly and disappeared from his fingertips. "It has the ability to accelerate the regeneration of aura."

"I want to go sleep." Weiss complained, leaning against the trunk of a fallen tree.

"Can't do that." Yang said miserably. "We have to choose a mission today, remember?"

Neptune, who had almost managed to doze off, groaned and covered his face with his hands. "I really don't want to think about that."

"Oh come on," Son said fairly. "We had a blast last time."

"We are getting paid for these missions, right?" Raziel asked, lying back and placing his arms behind his head. "When are we supposed to be there anyway?"

"What time is it?" Ruby asked. Axel looked up at the sun and squinted, estimating the time based on its position. He told her and she immediately freaked out. "We need to go!" She screeched.

"We're gonna be late!"

Raziel opened his eyes and sat up just as the group began to stir after Ruby's declaration. "Cloud?" He asked.

The blond haired man nodded in response and Raziel grinned. "Don't worry." He told them. "Grab on to someone who is touching Cloud."

They followed his orders and the second that the last person, Weiss, did so they suddenly found themselves back in an academy room. This was, however, not as pleasant as it seemed. Everyone staggered a few steps when they appeared and grabbed onto the nearest thing they could find to steady themselves. "What was that?" Blake asked weakly, using a bed post like a crutch. "I feel like I'm dying."

Raziel, who was leaning heavily on the wall, smiled ruefully. "It's a little trick that Cloud's semblance lets him do. Think of it like a sub-semblance. But it takes a lot of aura, and we didn't have all that much to spare. My guess is that the jump took some of our natural energy instead of just our aura to compensate. We should be fine in a little while."

"Now I feel worse than I did earlier." Son moaned from where he lay on the floor. "And that's saying something."

"Imagine how I feel." Cloud muttered, using his sword as support. The tip of the blade dug into the wooden floors of the room, something Raziel was certain that the academy staff would not appreciate.

"W-we should have a little time now." Ruby said, checking the clock that was on the wall. "We should rest."

"I agree with that." Axel said, moving shakily to one of the four beds and collapsing onto the sheets. He kicked off his boots and sighed in relief, closing his eyes. Weiss moved over to him and prodded him roughly in the side. "What?" Axel asked moodily.

"Move over." She said, "I want to sleep too and I will _not_ sleep on the floor."

"The floor is fine." Son said from where he laid. "Really. I could use a blanket though." He added as an afterthought.

Raziel pulled the sheet off of his bed and threw it on top of the Faunus before unbuckling his swords, pulling off his coat, and collapsing onto the bed. He groaned as the strain was released from his muscles, temporarily causing him some discomfort. He felt someone push him and he shifted over without opening his eyes, not concerned with who it might be. The room fell silent as everyone found their own places to rest, with Ruby only vying to be the one to wake everyone up.

It only seemed like a few minutes of sleep to Raziel before he was being roused awake. He opened his eyes and found Blake's face only a few inches from his own. He was momentarily captivated by her eyes but then the moment passed and he sat up. He shook his head to dislodge the last effects of sleep from his brain, quickly realizing that it was Blake who had been the one sleeping next to him. The others seemed similarly irritated at having been woken up. Neptune glared around the room as though it was their fault that he had not been able to get a full rest, which in part was true. "Come on," Ruby said as she stretched. "We don't need to get changed into our uniform today, but I want to get changed into some different clothes. These are still all sweaty from last night."

"That could be taken really badly out of context." Axel observed. "Particularly since no one knows what we were up to apart from our group. And maybe the guard." He added.

"I wouldn't worry about it." Raziel said as he pulled on his coat and strapped his swords across his back.

Cloud had somehow avoided being awoken to this point and was using his sword as a pillow of sorts, leaning his head on the side of the blade and his back against the wall. Roxas prodded him with his foot and the blond haired man finally stirred, yawning mightily. "Come on," Roxas said as he pulled his friend to his feet. "Time to go."

"Do you guys have any other clothes?" Ruby was asking.

"Nope." Axel said cheerfully. "We are going to need some soon. The coats repel all dirt and other impurities, but we can't really just walk around in these all the time."

" _Ooh!_ " Yang squealed happily. "We can go shopping! I need some new combat clothes anyways."

"We have no money." Axel told her. "And the dust owners didn't want to buy our crystals, so that's that particular potential revenue gone. That's why we wanted to know about the mission today."

"Oh, yes." Ruby nodded. "We get some money for it, but the academy takes most of it."

"We'll have to do a good one then." Raziel said, "What sort of tasks are they? Assassinations?"

Everyone in the room but the waste landers looked at him with eyes wide. "N-no…" Ruby told him. "Usually Grimm extermination or something along those lines. Is that the kind of tasks you did in the waste land?"

"Sometimes." Cloud said quietly. "Other times they were worse."


	7. Borrowed Mission

In the end they settled on a simple Grimm extermination task. The mission took them less than a quarter of the three days the students had been allotted, and the wastelanders found themselves without a thing to do. "We could always go help out the other teams." Axel offered.

"Yeah, but that won't be very fair to them." Roxas said despondently, lounging on his bed.

"We could always make it a contest." Raziel offered, grinning slyly. "The first one to get a team back wins."

"The wager?" Cloud asked. They all leaned in, immediately interested by the promise of a challenge.

"The right to one order." Raziel grinned. "The winner can give the others one order that they must obey."

"Sounds like fun." Roxas grinned. "I'm in."

"Me too." Axel said, flames dancing excitedly around his fingertips. "Whose going with what team?"

"I'll go with RWBY." Raziel offered.

"I'll go with Jaune's team." Axel said.

"I'll go with Son and Neptune." Roxas chimed in. They all paused and looked at cloud, waiting to see whom he would choose.

The blond haired man seemed to contemplate for a moment before shrugging. "I'll find that team with the rabbit-eared Faunus." He said quietly, picking his sword up from the wall and setting it across his back. The bandages that wrapped around the blade shifted slightly as they rubbed against the fabric of his coat, but they remained in place.

"Well, when do we start?" Axel asked.

Raziel pulled out a coin from his pocket and held it up for all to see. "When this hits the ground the time begins." He explained, flipping it into the air and catching it expertly. "Fair?"

"Sounds good." Axel said. "First one to pick up the coin wins?"

"Yes." Raziel nodded. He paused and looked around at his team before flipping the coin into the air. Immediately, each one of them tensed and prepared to move. They watched the coin like hawks as it traveled up through the air, reached its peak, and then began its descent. The metal had only just brushed the floor when they exploded into motion.

Axel and Roxas were out the door in a flash while Raziel and Cloud leapt out the open window. Raziel grinned at his friend as he drew a sword and used it to slow his descent when he was near the bottom. Cloud however did not slow his descent, landing in a crouch before dashing off and leaving Raziel far behind. Annoyed that he was being outpaced, Raziel pulled his sword from the wall and pushed off with his feet, flipping back and landing in a crouch like Cloud had just moments before. He rushed off after his team mate, but Cloud had already gone by the time he got to the mission board. Raziel quickly scrolled through the teams until he found RWBY's mission. "An escort for a merchant?" Raziel said with a groan. From experience he knew that escort missions took time to complete, which meant that his possibility of winning the wager had just dropped to near zero chance. "Well, they shouldn't be very far at least…." He quickly read the last details of their assignment and shrugged.

He turned away from the screen just as Axel and Roxas rushed into the room. He grinned at the two of them as he ran past them and towards the East Gate. To his annoyance, the same guard as before was on duty and the man recognized Raziel as well. "Halt!" He declared, barring the wastelander's path with his weapon.

Raziel rolled his eyes as he leapt over the weapon and the guard without breaking his pace. His coat fanned out behind him like a cape as he disappeared into the forest, the guard's curses following him into the trees. Once he was clear from the view of the town, Raziel allowed himself to really pick up the pace. He pulled his hood up as he ran and he transformed into a dark blue as he rushed after team RWBY. At the pace he was traveling at he would catch up to them in very little time no matter how far they had managed to travel. The few Grimm that he passed attempted to give chase, but they were very quickly outdistanced by their prey and were forced to admit their defeat and look for slower quarries.

Raziel ran for several hours before he finally found his targets. The four huntresses were walking beside a line of chest laden carts. He quickly caught up to them and made his appearance known to them as he skidded to a halt in front of the carts. The man driving the first cart ground to a halt, and the carts behind him did the same thing. "Bandit!" He cried, diving out of view in his vehicle.

Raziel heard something move behind him and he sidestepped just in time as a gauntleted hand struck the air where his head had been a second ago. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Raziel said, skipping back and throwing back his hood. "I like a good fight as much as the next guy, but at least say hello first."

"Oh." Yang blinked. "What are you doing here?"

"Well so far, being attacked." Raziel said with an eyeroll. He glanced up in the tree above him, seeing Ruby with her scythe held at the ready. "Hi."

"Oh, Raz." Ruby said as if seeing him was the most normal thing in the world. "Sorry."

"It's all good." He said, waving away the apology. "Thanks for not decapitating me."

"What are you doing here?" Weiss demanded, striding forward and poking him in the chest. "Don't you have your own mission?"

"I'm already done mine." Raziel informed her.

"So what, you didn't think that we were competent enough to handle this on our own?" Weiss demanded, poking him again.

"I never said that, and if you poke me again I am going to remove the offending finger." Raziel warned. "We just got bored so my team decided to go visit with the others."

"Well, we have a ways to go." Yang said cheerfully. "It's always nice to have some more friends along. That alright with you, Blake?"

"It's fine." The faunus said quietly, standing off to the side. "It will be helpful to have another person who can see in the dark."

"Glad to be of service." Raziel said cheerfully. He paused and looked at the still cowering driver and raised an eyebrow in his direction. "Is he going to be alright?"

"He probably thought that you were a member of the White Fang." Yang said dismissively, moving to reassure the driver. "They have been raiding these shipments for the past few months which is why the merchant hired us."

"White Fang, huh?" Raziel repeated. "I hope they decide to make an appearance. It might make this fun. Any Grimm problems so far?"

"None yet." Ruby said, compacting her scythe into its more manageable form. "But we haven't gotten to the dangerous part of the forest yet. We are still pretty close to the Vale border. Once we get there we should encounter some more enemies."

"Here's hoping." Raziel said, climbing on top of a truck as sitting down on the flat metal top.


	8. Fear

The first day of the trek was completely uneventful. The few Grimm encounters that the merchant cart has were quickly exterminated by the vehicle's dust based defense system. The merchant was extremely wary of the wastelander, even going as far as to request that one of the girls was always keeping an eye on him. Raziel had rolled his eyes when he had heard this, but he agreed to keep his distance from the man. But even the merchant was in good spirits as the final leg of their journey neared its end. "Only a few hours to go." He would happily repeat to anyone, excluding Raziel, who would listen.

"So, why don't people like wastelanders very much?" Ruby asked Raziel as they walked beside a cart. "Everyone seems to be really afraid of you."

"That's because most wastelanders are nothing more than hired killers." Weiss said immediately. Raziel stared at her with a raised eyebrow and she said, "What? I said most."

"She's not wrong." Raziel said, looking away from the stuck up girl. "Simply because of the way that the wasteland works most people are afraid of us."

"The way it works?" Ruby asked curiously.

"Hunters and huntresses aren't the only ones who get missions you know." Raziel told her. He felt the others listening to him speak and he considered lapsing into silence. With a mental shrug he launched into an explanation of the wasteland. "What you have to know is that the wasteland's system of missions is much more…. Understanding than yours. For the right price you can hire us for any task."

"Any task?" Ruby repeated. "Like what cloud said about assassinations?"

"Occasionally." Raziel nodded. "Other times we are hired as bodyguards. We have a reputation as some of the strongest hunters around, and often people decide that they need protection. A lot of times these people aren't the best sort. Crime lords. Criminals. That sort of people. But those are fairly normal jobs. Like I said, for the right price we will do anything."

"But… you don't seem like that type of person." Yang said uncertainly. "You know, all dark and evil looking. Maybe a few scars."

"It's easier to infiltrate places if they aren't wary of you." Raziel said, "But none of my team are particularly bad like you think. It's just… what we know."

"That sounds awful." Ruby said with a shudder.

"Life isn't as easy as it is in the capitals." Raziel said wisely. "Especially not where I come from."

"Why don't you leave?" Blake asked. "It might be hard to leave behind what you know, but it _is_ possible."

"Maybe." Raziel agreed. He was no longer paying full attention to the conversation, his senses on high alert. He had heard something moving in the forest on either side of them, though whatever it was had been trying to conceal its movement. "But right now, I think that we should focus on the task at hand."

Without another word he broke off from the group and disappeared into the forest, pulling up his hood as he did. The dust crystals in his coat responded to him as he sent aura into them and soon he had blended into the shadows. He moved like a phantom through the woods, eager to investigate the source of the noise. It didn't take him long. Hidden several yards away from the path were dozens of warriors garbed in white attire with a curious design on their uniforms. The image seemed vaguely familiar to Raziel, and after a minute he recognized it. _Ah, the White Fang._ He thought to himself, watching the soldiers slowly creep through the forest towards the caravan. _I would guess that they have soldiers on the other side as well._

Raziel reached for a sword and very slowly pulled the black and red sword from its sheath. One soldier was slightly off to one side by himself, a good two meters from the nearest of his compatriots. Raziel crept behind him and grabbed him from behind, clapping a hand over his mouth to silence his cry of surprise just as his sword pierced his heart. Raziel waited for the man to stop struggling before he put him over his shoulder and disappeared back into the shadows. He strode back into the clearing, throwing off his hood as he did. The shock on the faces of the girls could have not been plainer as he tossed the body onto the ground at the front of the caravan. The driver slammed on the brakes just before the tires ran over the body. Blood began to pool on the ground beneath the dead soldier and Raziel strode away without another word. "Get ready." He told the girls as he drew his other sword. "The White Fang are in the forest on either side of us. They are armed."

They said nothing, stunned by Raziel's reappearance with a dead body. "Did… did you kill that soldier?" Ruby managed to ask as Raziel climbed on top of one of the carts and began to search the forest.

"Yes." He said, his voice cold and distant.

Any other words they might have said were lost as shouts of battle suddenly came forth from the forest. Dozens of soldiers streamed onto the road with their weapons drawn, quickly surrounding the cart. Team RWBY quickly took defensive positions, watching the soldiers like hawks. One soldier wielding a massive saw-like sword stepped forward and hefted the sword with one hand, pointing the end at the group. "Hand over the cargo and we _might_ let you go." He told them, smirking as he spoke.

"I've got a better idea." Raziel said, stepping off the cart and landing gracefully on the ground before the leader. "I'm going to kill you and all of your comrades so that you can't raid any more convoys."

"Big ta-." The man began, but his words were suddenly cut off.

The soldiers on either side of him were mute with horror as he collapsed to his knees, his blade falling from his grasp. His body fell next, devoid of his head as it tumbled on the ground behind them. "It wasn't a question." Raziel said with a bloodthirsty grin. "It was a statement of fact. Run now and some of you _might_ survive."

To their credit, the White Fang recovered quickly from the loss of their leader. With a wordless shout they attacked Raziel simultaneously. A laugh bubbled to his lips as his blade began its deadly dance, cleaving and cutting through every warrior who stood in his path. Raziel lost himself in the bliss of the fight, even going as far as to laugh when one of the soldiers managed to put a shot in his shoulder. The offending soldier wasn't able to celebrate his victory as Raziel cut him from shoulder to waist. Fear began to spread through the soldiers as they realized that this hunter was enjoying the fight more than anyone should have. They began to retreat as one, completely disengaging from the battle and sprinting back into the woods. But the damage had been done, bodies littered the ground in front of Raziel and the earth was stained red. Blood dripped gently from the edge of his swords, forming a small pool on the ground below them. Raziel watched the soldiers run from him, until only one stood before him. The soldier trembled as the sword fell from its grip, and Raziel tilted his head to one side as he considered his prey. Reaching up, she unclasped her helmet and tossed it aside revealing long dark hair and clear blue eyes. Those same eyes were filled with terror as Raziel began to stride towards her, his swords in small circles at his side. "You should have run." He told her honestly, raising his sword.

Just as he was about to bring the blade down on the Faunus he felt something crash into the center of his back. He was sent tumbling end over end past the Faunus, coming to a stop when he stabbed his sword into the dirt and skidding to a halt. Turning around furiously he saw Yang standing where he had been moments before, her gauntlet still slightly smoking from its very recent use. "What are you doing?" He demanded.

"You were going to kill her!" Yang screamed back. "She surrendered!"

"There _is no surrender_!" Raziel snarled. He whipped his blades through the air and the blood flew off the blades, splattering across the ground. He replaced the blades in their sheaths and shook his head. He smiled at the looks of horror RWBY was giving him and shrugged. "You asked why people fear wastelanders. There's your answer."


	9. Contract

"So, tell me once more what happened," Ozpin said as he leaned forward on his desk and rested his chin on his hands. Assembled before him was Team RWBY and Raziel, all of whom were now garbed in the school's uniform. "From the point that the White Fang appeared onwards."

"Well, Raziel came out of the woods with a body over his shoulder. He put it on the ground and stopped the merchant. After that the other White Fang ambushed us and they told us to surrender, or they were going to…."

"It was at that point that you decapitated the leader, correct?" Ozpin asked, nodding at Raziel.

"Yes." The wastelander nodded, stifling a yawn with one hand.

"The others attacked Raziel and…." Ruby's voice trailed off as she suddenly shivered. The room was warm, the fire in the corner roaring. The shiver had nothing at all to do with her being cold.

"I eliminated the targets." Raziel supplied helpfully.

Ozpin looked into Raziel's eyes for a long moment, searching their snake-like depths. "Ladies, would you mind excusing us? I would like to speak to our guest alone for a few moments."

"Sure…" Yang said, frowning slightly at the gray-haired old man. She led the way out of the office, casting a last glance over her shoulder before closing the door behind her team.

"Please, take a seat." Ozpin gestured towards the chair opposite him and Raziel sank into the plush leather. At the headmaster's request he had left his weapons in his room, under the care of his team. The headmaster grabbed a teapot and poured two cups, passing one to the wastelander. He then sat back in his chair and sipped at his own tea, sighing appreciatively at the smooth taste. Raziel followed suit, mimicking the sound of delight at the tea's deliciousness. They sat in silence for several minutes, both of them enjoying their beverage. "How many?" Ozpin asked off-handedly.

"How many what?" Raziel asked, though he had a feeling he knew what the question pertained to.

"How many people have you killed? Ozpin asked, confirming Raziel's suspicions.

"One hundred and eighteen." Raziel answered, carefully keeping his voice neutral.

Ozpin nodded, considering the response for a moment. "What was your specialty?" He asked. "In the wasteland I mean. Yours and your teams'."

"I was sent out for individual targets." Raziel told him.

"Assassinations?" Ozpin inquired.

"No." Raziel shook his head. "That's Axel. His semblance is… uniquely suited for that particular task."

"I fail to see how a fire semblance user is suited as an assassin, but that's a question for another time. If you weren't used for assassinations, then what kind of targets?"

"Usually hunters, or similarly trained people." Raziel shrugged. "Usually when they were bodyguards."

"And you would then kill the person they protected?" Ozpin raised an eyebrow.

"No." Raziel shook his head again. "My contracts are for one target. If someone else gets in the way they die as well, but only if they got in the way. Whether or not the client hires someone else to assassinate the one that my target protected or not is not up to me."

Ozpin stared at Raziel for another long moment before sighing and getting to his feet, setting his cup gently on his table. He turned away from the wastelander and walked over to the window behind him, staring out over the city. "How old are you, Raziel?" He asked.

"Seventeen…. I think." The wastelander said after a moment.

The headmaster gave a grim chuckle. "You know exactly how many people you have killed and yet your exact age escapes you…" Ozpin sighed suddenly, clearly dismayed. "I have only heard tales about how the wasteland operates, but from what I understand it is a very unforgiving place."

"Survival of the strong." Raziel nodded. "And sometimes not even the strong survive."

"Why do you stay there?" Ozpin asked. "Neither you nor your team are what I would consider evil. Far from it in fact, you seem to be genuinely good."

"When something is all you know you consider it to be normal." Raziel told him wisely. "We were born and raised there. This is our first time actually letting it be known that we are in a capital city. Every other time we have been here we were on missions. The wasteland is harsh, but it is the only home we know."

"I'm not going to ask you why you chose to visit the capital," Ozpin told him. "But there are three things I want you to know."

"I'm listening." Raziel said, taking another sip of his tea.

"The capital is not the wasteland. I understand that you may consider Grimm extermination to be something of an enjoyable pastime, but here it is a very serious matter. I do not wish for my students to be harmed doing something foolhardy. That includes you and your team for now."

Raziel considered the order for a moment before nodding his acknowledgement. "That should be fine. I'll tell the others."

"While I do understand that your… missions… that you undertook for the wasteland may have had rather dark objectives, please know that we value life here. The White Fang is a violent organization, but many of their members are misguided. I would like to avoid any loss of life if possible."

Raziel's eyes narrowed but he nodded. "If possible." Was all he said in response. "And the third?"

"I am hiring your team for a mission." Ozpin said, turning around to face Raziel. To his surprise, the professor was smiling.

"The objective?" Raziel asked, tilting his head. "And the terms of the agreement?"

"If nothing else, this tournament has brought into light that the White Fang may make a move during the festival. Should that happen, I would rather not have you fighting against us." Ozpin sat back down at his desk and began writing on a paper.

"You sound as though you know more than you are letting on." Raziel noticed, setting his cup down before leaning back and folding his arms. "So our assignment is to not fight if an engagement between your hunters and the White Fang breaks out?"

"Not at all." Ozpin shook his head as he wrote. "I value life, but I value the lives of my students and citizens far more than those who would harm them. No, if such a conflict breaks out I want you to fight alongside us with all of your strength no matter what we face."

"You realize in a fight like that lives will be lost, correct?" Raziel asked. "That is simply the nature of the beast."

"It is unfortunate." Ozpin agreed with a sigh as he set his pen down and handed Raziel the paper. "But if such a battle breaks out then the White Fang has openly declared that they wish to destroy everything we hold dear. I may be a professor, Raziel, but I am also a hunter."

Raziel scanned the contract, reading it thoroughly before nodding. "And the payment?" He asked.

"Should you choose to stay at Vale after the tournament, you and your team will be accepted into Beacon Academy the second you decide. You will receive every benefit the other students do."

Raziel considered the offer for a long moment, gnawing at the inside of his cheek. He pulled up the sleeve of his uniform, revealing an oddly shaped burn, and pressed it with the palm of his hand. A moment later the air behind him shivered as the other members of Team ARRC materialized in the air behind Raziel. Ozpin raised an eyebrow but said nothing as Raziel silently passed the contract to Axel who immediately began to read. Once every member had read the contract, Raziel outlined Ozpin's proposed payment method.

Cloud drew out an oddly shaped dust crystal from his pocket and stabbed his palm. The crystal went from a clear white to a crimson red the second that the crystal tasted the man's blood. Cloud then stepped forward and signed his name on the contract. The crystal shimmered before seemingly melding into Cloud's hand. Axel and Roxas followed suit, drawing out their own crystals and signing the contract in the same way that Cloud had.

Raziel drew out his own crystal and was about to draw his own blood when Ozpin spoke up. "What are they?" He asked, gesturing towards the crystal.

"The reason that wastelanders are so sought after." Raziel smiled as he signed his name. He suppressed a shudder as the crystal burned hot as it melted into his flesh. "These crystals ensure that we follow the contract with our lives. Any aberration results in a failed contract."

"And if a contract is failed?" Ozpin asked warily.

"Failing a contract is not an option." Raziel said, his smile grim. He rolled up the contract and handed it back to the headmaster. "If we fail, we die."


	10. Begin

"I guess today is the day." Roxas said, shrugging on his black coat and pulling up the hood. His face disappeared in the dark depths of the dust-infused fabric just as Axel and Cloud's had moments before. "Feels good to be out of those uniforms."

"I agree." Raziel said, content to leave his own hood down. "I wish they hadn't taken my weapons for that check in nonsense though." The previous day the Tournament Proctors had proclaimed that every participant was to turn in their weapons for inspection. There had been a moment of quiet amusement on Roxas's part as he was forced to summon his keyblades just as Axel summoned his chakrams. They both would be able to call back their weapons at any time they chose, but they had decided to play along for the moment.

"I wonder what they wanted them for anyways." Roxas said, putting his hands behind his head as they walked out of the room, joining the throng of students heading for the starting location of the exam. Each team had been given the same starting coordinates which, after a quick investigation, Raziel had determined to be at the top of a hill overlooking a vast forest. "Any ideas you guys?"

"A few," Raziel said, putting up his own hood. He felt odd without the familiar weight of his swords across his back, and very vulnerable though he was skilled at hand-to-hand combat as well. "But they'll probably just give them back to us when we get there."

"Hope so." Axel said as they stepped out of the building. The students walking on either side of them seemed keen to give the wastelanders a wide berth, even Team RWBY had been oddly distant since their joint mission with Raziel. "How far is this place?"

"It's right outside of…." Raziel began, but his voice trailed off when he saw the citizens lining up on either side of the road. The teams had stopped right before the Academy's gates as Professor Goodwich stood before them with a sheet of paper in front of her. "The gate." He finished warily.

"Alright, listen up." Goodwich called, her voice cutting through the idle chit chat the students had been enjoying. "When I call your team, you are to begin to move down the street. This tournament is as much to celebrate the strength of the hunters as it is to celebrate the peace we have been enjoying. These people are here to show their appreciation for the hunters who protect them. You represent more than just your respective academies when you walk down this street. You represent every hunter who has gone before you. The first team will be Team RWBY."

RWBY moved forward quickly and began their walk down the street, waving at the citizens as they moved. They all seemed to be enjoying the cheers and praise as the townspeople tossed rose petals of varying colors at them. The next team was called as RWBY approached the halfway point and a renewed bout of cheering went up among the townsfolk. This team chose to show off a bit, throwing up a dazzling net of light that seemed to catch the rose petals.

"Well, that's at least one light based semblance." Axel muttered to his team as yet another group went forth. "Show off."

"Should we do the same?" Roxas asked as the next time followed the show off trend. "The crowd seems to be enjoying it."

"I don't think any of us have a semblance that's good for showing off." Raziel chuckled.

The rest of the teams were called in order until it was only the wastelanders who were left at the gates. "Team… ARRC." Goodwich called after a moment.

Instantly, the crowd's cheering stopped. The wastelanders began their trek down the street, their faces hidden by their hoods. Underneath the fabric they were scanning the crowd for any suggestion of hostility directed towards them. They were nearing the halfway point when one of the citizens broke from the line, a child to be precise, and stood before the wastelanders. They stopped as one and stared down at the young child. The boy couldn't have been more than six years old, and yet he seemed to be unafraid of the hunters. Smiling he held out his hand, a rose clutched in his tiny palm. Grinning, Axel threw back his hood to reveal the crimson hair that matched the flower. He knelt down and took the rose from the child and observed the flower. "Thanks, kid." Axel said, smiling still as he stood back up.

"You are welcome." The child said happily. He gazed at Axel expectantly for a long moment until he spoke again. "Aren't you going to use your powers?"

Raziel bit back a chuckle but he gave Axel an almost imperceptible nod. Axel laughed and shrugged. "I guess I could show you something."

He pointed a finger into the air and flames blossomed from his hand, dancing across the sky until a flaming rose was hanging in the air above the crowd's head. The citizens gasped and burst into applause that lasted until Team ARRC had made their way to join the other teams. "That was kind of nice." Roxas said off-handedly. "Being cheered for."

"That kid sure was something." Axel laughed, storing the rose in a pocket. "He would make a good wastelander."

"That's a bit of a stretch." Raziel scoffed. "But he will make a good hunter someday."

They followed the rest of the teams up to the hill they had been instructed to report to and found Ozpin and several other people standing there with dozens of pods lined up before a row of platforms. Raziel frowned at the setup but chose not to say anything, instead waiting for the explanation from the Proctors.

"Welcome." Ozpin said when the hunters and huntresses at last gathered before him. "For those of you who don't know me I am Professor Ozpin, the Headmaster of Beacon Academy. Welcome to the First Round of the Hunter's Tournament. I will not waste time with a long winded speech about the importance or the significance of the Tournament. Instead I would prefer to begin the explanation of the first part of the tournament. As you are all aware your weapons were turned into the proctors for examination. If you expected to receive them back, I am sorry to disappoint you. The first test will test your versatility as well as your ability to work with an unknown person. In each of these pods are your weapons."

The words had no sooner left his lips when the pods shot off into the woods, each taking a different route and disappearing into the forest. Raziel watched the containers go, completely thrown by this development. It took him a moment to realize that Ozpin had begun speaking again. "You will be launched into the forest via these platforms," Ozpin indicated the metal plates before continuing on, "Once inside the forest you are to locate a pod and take the weapon that you find. The first pod you see is to be the weapon that you use for this part of the tournament. A failure to do so will result in an immediate disqualification from the exams. Inside the pod along with a weapon is a locator. It will guide you to the next portion of the exam. Should you find your own weapon or one of your teams' you are not permitted to take it from the pod. You must find a weapon that you have no prior experience with. In addition to this, from this moment on in the tournament your teams are disbanded. The first person that you lay eyes on in the forest is your partner for this test, provided that they are not part of your original team. This test is timed. You have three days to make it to the final destination with both a new weapon and your partner along with you. If the first person that you lay eyes on does not make it to the next exam alongside you, you are disqualified. Be warned, there are Grimm in that forest. However, there will also be other true hunters in there to challenge you. If you are defeated by said hunter or huntress you are disqualified."

Ozpin paused and let this information sink in, enjoying the stunned looks on the faces of the students. "Take your places on a platform. Teams may not be within three places of each other. The tournament starts in three minutes. Good luck, and be wary. People have died in this tournament."


	11. Trek

There was no time for the teams to convene and discuss the rules after Ozpin's explanation. The proctors, all of whom were garbed in their combat gear, ushered the participants to a metal square and continued to do so until every square was occupied. Glancing out towards either side of them, the students traded uncertain looks as they looked futilely into the forest for their weapons. Ozpin cleared his throat and spoke once more, "Well, I wish you all the best. With that being said, let the tournament…. Begin!" He tapped his cane once against the floor and the springs under the plates were released, sending the students flying into the air.

Almost on instinct, Raziel tried to force out his white wing but the wing remained nonexistent. Gritting his teeth, he crossed his arms in front of him just as he crashed through the branch of a tree. He splintered several more branches until he was finally brought to a halt, dropping heavily to the ground. He examined his arms for damage and winced, seeing a sharp piece of wood piercing halfway through his arm. He quickly pulled out the branch, biting off a curse as he did so, before focusing on the spot with narrowed eyes. His aura quickly went to work and reduced the wound to a much lighter version of its former self. "Alright," Raziel muttered, "Find a weapon."

Without another word he set off into the woods, scanning the area in front of him for any sign of a weapon pod. The woods were surprisingly quiet, especially in light of the amount of participants within. Raziel suddenly cursed himself as he realized that he had forgotten to check the positions of other participants and where they had fallen in relation to him. The sound of something moving in the trees above him caused Raziel to look up and into the confused face of Jaune Arc. "Erm… hi." The blonde haired man said with a half-hearted smile. "Can you uh, get me down?"

Raziel reached up and grabbed onto Jaune's arms, pulling on them until the blonde haired man was pulled free. Jaune came crashing down and landed on Raziel, taking them both to the ground. "Ouch," Jaune winced, rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry about that."

"It's fine." Raziel said, standing up and brushing himself off. "Rough landing?"

"I really don't like those platforms." Jaune nodded, getting to his feet as well. "So, I guess we're partners?"

Raziel shrugged. "I guess. Come on, we need weapons." He said, leading the way into the forest. "The longer we search the better the odds our opponents have."

"What do you mean?" Jaune inquired. "The goal of this test-."

"The goal is to make it to the end within the time limit." Raziel overrode him. "But we don't know what the rest of the tests will be. There are bound to be some people who try to prevent as many people as they can from reaching the end destination."

"Oh…. You think so?" Jaune asked, jogging to keep up with the pace that Raziel had set.

"The first weapon pod we come across is yours." Raziel told him. The words had barely made it to Jaune's ears when Raziel skidded to a halt and smiled. "Lucky us."

In front of them, slightly separated, were two untouched weapon pods. Raziel and Jaune made their way carefully up to the pods, their eyes searching for any sign of treachery. Jaune tapped one of the pods with a tentative knuckle and with a pneumatic hiss the chamber opened. Raziel didn't bother to check Jaune's weapon, instead opting to open up his own pod. Nestled inside the pod were a pair of odd looking gloves. Raziel picked them up, raising their eyebrow at their unexpected weight as he pulled them on and flexed his fist. He turned back to Jaune and raised an eyebrow as the man held a bow staff before him. The two hunters stared at one another's weapons for a long moment before Raziel shrugged. He looked into the pod and found a blinking arm band attached to the inner mesh. Raziel slipped it on and studied the screen that appeared. A blinking green light signified their position while another red light signified the end goal. Raziel's eyes narrowed as he looked at the long journey before them. "We have to get moving." He told Jaune. "The end of this mission is quite a few miles north of us. In the mountains."

"Okay." Jaune nodded, slipping on his own locator. "Let's move."

"Try to keep up." Raziel said, turning to face the direction the locator indicated and hurrying off into the forest. "And keep a sharp eye out for other teams. If we can regroup with anyone from our own teams that would be preferable."

"I thought we couldn't team up with anyone from our own squads." Jaune said, keeping pace with Raziel.

"We can't have anyone from our squads as our partners for this test. But he never said anything about forming an alliance with other teams…." Raziel's voice trailed off and he slowed to a stop. "Here we go." He muttered, his senses on edge.

He had sensed something in the woods around them, moving silently and watching their progress. Instincts screaming, Raziel ducked low and pulled Jaune along with him just as an arrow whistled over their heads and buried itself in the trunk of a tree. "Stay down." Raziel hissed to Jaune as the man made to get to his feet. "I don't know where they are."

"We can't just stay here!" Jaune countered, holding the bow staff tightly in his hands. The weapon glowed red and a shot pierced the air as a dust based projectile was fired from the end of the bow staff. "Whoa!"

"Well, so much for stealth." Raziel said, standing up and sighing. "I was hoping to avoid any fighting."

"Sorry to disappoint you." Two huntresses stepped out from behind a tree, one holding a very familiar red scythe and the other holding two very familiar chakrams. "But the less competition the better."

"Oh, don't you worry about that." Raziel said cheerfully, walking towards the two females. He saw that the one wielding Axel's chakrams had a set of throwing arrows at her side, with one missing from its slot. He felt a slight rage as he saw his friend's weapons wielded by someone who in his opinion did not deserve to even touch them. When he was ten feet from them he paused and raised one gloved fist, pointing it at the girls. His smile had transformed into a terrible glare filled with bloodlust. "Because I completely agree. The less competition the better."


	12. Disqualification

"See?" Raziel asked brightly as he held aside a branch, revealing a large metal platform floating slightly in the air. "I told you that we would make it with no problems."

Jaune, looking very much worse for wear, gazed at Sevan through narrowed eyes and shook his head. "Never. Ever. Again." He said, walking through the opening created by Raziel. "Do you have any idea how sore I am?!"

"Probably not as sore as those whom we defeated." Raziel pointed out. "Complain not, Jaune, I am sure that our partnership will be at an end once we reach the sky arena."

"The what?" Jaune asked confusedly. "What sky arena?"

Raziel pointed up with one finger and Jaune followed his gaze, his mouth falling open in amazement and confusion. "My guess would be that this is what takes us up there." He said, crossing the grass to the metal platform and crouching down to examine it. "What do you think?"

"So you think we just climb on?" Jaune asked, tapping the platform with one knuckle. "And it takes us to the sky arena?"

"Probably."

Raziel paused and frowned as his ears picked up an odd sound in the distance. It took him only a moment to recognize it, and the person the voice belonged to. Wisely, he stepped casually aside just as Nora came bolting into the arena, crashing into a very startled Jaune and crushing him in a hug. The sound Raziel had noticed was Nora shouting Jaune's name as she ran. "There you are!" Nora said happily, "I was hoping that we would meet up before we got there."

"Nora-can't-breathe-." Jaune gasped as his face turned blue.

"Oh, sorry." She laughed, dropping him onto the ground very unceremoniously. She paused and whirled around, shielding her eyes from the sun with one hand on her brow as she peered into the woods. "Heeeey, where's Neptune?"

As is on cue the blue haired man stumbled out of the woods, his normally suave manner apparently quite forgotten. He leaned against a tree as he stared at Nora with one eye twitching in apparent rage. "You left me ALONE?! WITH TWO URSAS?!"

"Oh, silly, you were fine." Nora laughed, apparently not at all abashed. "You had weapons. And look who I found!"

"You left him to battle two foes with a weapon unfamiliar to him?" Raziel asked confusedly. "Were you trying to kill him?"

"Thank you!" Neptune snapped, striding over to them and taking a seat heavily onto the platform and spreading out over the metal. The weapon he had been using, some sort of curved sword with a chain affixed to the hilt, was laid beside him. Raziel raised an eyebrow and took a step back. "Ugh, it is good to finally relax."

"I would not sit there if I was you." Raziel warned him. "Not without a better position."

"A better what?" Neptune asked with a sigh. He then paused and seemed to listen intently as the platform gave a few whirring metallic clicks. "Did anyone else just hear that?"

It was not clear if anyone did or did not hear the platform click as at the precise moment that Neptune finished speaking the platform erupted beneath him, revealing it to be a large spring-loaded contraption. Neptune's scream as he was sent rocketing into the air was quickly swept away by the distance put between them. "Uh, do you think he is going to be alright?" Jaune asked, now eyeing the platform as it began to reset itself. "More importantly, are we going to be alright?"

"Probably." Raziel said, hopping onto the platform and offering a hand to Jaune. "Come on, let's get going. Nora, were you going to join us?"

"Sure!" She said happily, zipping onto the platform and placing her arms around both mens' shoulders. The platform began to whir and give that metallic click again. "Say cheese!"

"Why would we say the name of a food?" Raziel wondered just as the platform sprang to life between them.

They sailed through the air at a breakneck speed, Nora screaming in delight and Jaune screaming in terror as he clutched the bowstaff before him like a child's favorite stuffed animal. Much to Jaune's relief their flight was not very long. Once they drew level with the sky arena a magical force slowed them and slowly pulled them to another platform that stood out slightly from the rest of the arena. "Jaune, Nora, Raziel." Ozpin said in way of greeting as their feet touched down onto the metal. "Congratulations, the four of you have passed the first test of the Hunter's Festival."

"Where's Neptune?" Raziel wondered, handing over the gloves as a man bearing a tunic with Beacon's logo on his chest held out a small case for them. Jaune and Nora similarly handed over their weapons.

"He is being attended to by the medical staff, as you will be as well." Ozpin said, pointing with his cane to a pair of sliding doors. "Through there, and it is the first door on your left. The rest of the competitors who have already arrived will be there as well."

"Oh thank goodness." Jaune said heavily, looking as though he was about to fall down. "I need to sit down."

"A moment before you go," Ozpin said, halting them before they had even begun to leave. "As the others who have already been here have been told: If you or your partner are unable to continue in the tournament you are hereby disqualified. And for the next part of the tournament, since you need all four members of your tournament, your team is disqualified as well."

It was a curious change that went through Jaune when Ozpin finished speaking. He straightened up immediately and his injuries were clearly pushed to the back of his mind. "We are fine." Jaune said boldly, raising his chin defiantly.

Ozpin smiled slightly and nodded. "So be it." He said, stepping aside to let them pass. "Raziel, I feel as though I should warn you that you have already been disqualified. Axel's teammate was rendered unable to continue after they had a run-in with an instructor. You are more than welcome to stick around for the main tournament."

Raziel blew out an annoyed sigh and shrugged. "Naturally." He said, striding past the professor. "We still have our contract after all."

The three walked through the double doors that Ozpin had directed them through and Jaune nudged Raziel with his elbow. "So, it is wrong to say I am really glad that you guys are out?" He asked with a joking smile. "I really don't want to fight you."

"Aww, don't say that." Nora said, driving her elbow with considerable more force than Jaune into Raziel's midsection. "It would be fun, right Raziel?"

"Yeah, sure." He said, rubbing his sore ribs. The doors to the medical bay slid open with a pneumatic hiss and the competitors who had already arrived looked up expectantly at the new arrivals.

"Hey, Raziel." Roxas called cheerfully, waving the man over. "You came in last."

"Got held up." He answered, leaving Jaune and Nora behind to speak to his team. "So I hear that we are out?"

"Yeah, that's my bad." Axel said from where he leaned against a wall, his legs stretched out before him. He slowly got to his feet, wincing heavily in the process. Roxas made to give him a hand but Axel waved him off. "Ran into an instructor and the guy I was paired with lost his head. Rushed into it rather than try to escape. Couldn't really leave him so…"

"From the way you are moving, I assume that you aren't in the best shape." Raziel remarked coolly, sinking into a chair. Axel took the one to his right and Roxas to his left while Cloud remained quietly standing. "Instructor give you that much of a hard time?"

"You could say that." Axel said with a rueful grin. "Her name was Glynda Goodwitch. Her semblance… it was like nothing I have ever seen before. Nothing I threw at her, fire or anything, had an effect. She threw it all back at me. Got it memorized?"

"So, a telekinetic semblance?" Raziel asked.

"Something like it." Axel said hesitantly. He shook his head after a moment and said softly, "But I don't know. Something about her semblance… it was too strong for just a telekinetic semblance. If we ever have to take her on again, I wouldn't go into that fight thinking it is just a simple semblance. Something about that one is off."

"Well, we will have plenty of opportunity to figure it out now that we are out of the tournament." Raziel noted. "Besides, there are a few things I want to check out. Ozpin is hiding something about the White Fang, something that is worrying even him. While the tournament is going on, let's keep an eye out."

"Raziel?" A doctor called, stepping out from a back room. "Please, if you would follow me we will treat your injuries."

Without another word to his team Raziel swept away, following after the doctor into the backroom. As they worked, he considered Axel's words. Instructor or not, bona fide Huntress or not, thia Glynda character merited a closer eye being kept on her. As did anyone who proved to be a threat. Such was the way of the Wasteland.


	13. Preparations

"So how did it go?" Raziel asked from where he lounged on the balcony of their room, glancing over as Roxas and Axel swept into the room. Cloud merely nodded in greeting, returning to the busy task of napping with his arms crossed. "Who won?"

"JNPR." Roxas said, taking a seat onto his bed and falling backwards. "It was an interesting match. Nothing like you would see in the wasteland. Too much talking."

"Yeah, and what was the deal with them arguing over the name of team attacks?" Axel pondered aloud, leaning against the wall. "In the middle of the fight too."

"Well, we knew things were different in the cities." Raziel reminded the fairly. "Run into RWBY while you were out?"

"Nope, not this time." Roxas said, stretching on his bed. "We saw them watching the match though."

"We should find something to do." Cloud said, not bothering to open his eyes. "Just sitting around like this is counterproductive."

"Counterproductive?" Axel repeated skeptically. "Hate to be the bearer of bad news, Cloud, but we can't really do much. According to Ozpin no students are allowed to accept contracts during the time of the main tournament."

"I'm with Cloud on this one." Roxas chimed in, "Just because we can't take a contract or go outside doesn't mean we have to just sit around. There's no rule saying we can't have a few practice fights amongst ourselves."

"Fights among us are rarely just for practice." Raziel reminded them. It was true. They each had a fierce drive for victory and as such it made practice bouts quickly turn into the real thing.

"Ooh, what's this I hear about a fight?" A certain blonde female huntress asked, strolling into the room without so much as a hint of a courtesy knock. "You boys thinking about throwing down for a bit of fun?"

"Something like that." Axel said, raising an eyebrow at the interruption. The rest of Team RWBY strolled into the room, followed shortly after by JNPR. "I see we have company."

"Surprise!" Ruby said a tad unnecessarily. "We haven't seen you guys around very much so we thought that we would drop by. We ran into these guys on the way and they decided to tag along."

"Sorry about dropping by unannounced." Jaune said with a good-natured wince, marking the first time that the interruption had been formally acknowledged. "Did you guys make it to the match?"

"Sure did." Roxas said, sitting up and shooting JNPR a grin. "It was pretty cool, seeing you guys fight. Nora, your semblance is pretty cool. Is there a limit to it?"

"Roxas." Raziel interjected before Nora could say anything, an admonishing look on his face. Roxas had been, albeit very slyly, attempting to gather information about Nora's semblance. It was a common practice in the wasteland, one could never be sure when such information could be handy. But here it seemed unnecessary. Since they were out of the tournament Raziel could see no good reason as to why they would ever have to fight anyone currently in the room. He turned his attention to the teams and smiled, abashed. "Sorry about that, did you guys have something in mind?"

"Well we were just going to walk around the parade grounds." Yang said slowly, her eyes lighting up. "But now I have a better idea."

"A better idea?" Pyrrha asked uncertainly, this clearly news to her. "I had thought we were going to enjoy the festivities as well, it would be a welcome rest after the fight."

"Oh, come on." Yang said, wrapping an arm around Pyrrha's shoulders and pulling her in close. "There are still plenty of days left in the tournament. We can walk around afterwards if you want. But right now I want to see these guys fight!"

"Come again?" Blake asked.

"Yang overheard us talking about how we were starting to get a little bit bored just watching the fights." Axel explained quickly. "Apparently she wants to see us fight."

"You guys got to see us fight when we took on those Grimm the other day." Roxas reminded them. "I don't see why it really matters-."

"Uh, hello?" Yang asked, cutting him off. "We were sort of busy then. Come on, it's only fair. You've seen us fight, we should be able to see how you fight too."

"Ooooh, yes!" Nora added. "We can bring snacks. Ren you can make pancakes!"

"Nora, you ate the pancake mix last night." Pyrrha reminded her.

"Oh, that's fine we have some in our room." Ruby said consolingly.

"No… she ate that too." Ren said apologetically.

"Wait, she ate our raw pancake mix?" Weiss asked, her voice torn between disgust and outrage. "That's terrible!" It was unclear as to whether she was referring to the theft of their mix or the fact that Nora ingested potentially harmful ingredients.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Jaune said.

"Are all of your conversations this meaningless?" Cloud asked, opening one eye and somehow managing to convey a large amount of disdain through it. "Or do you make a special effort when we are around."

"Hm…" Yang mused, apparently considering this to be a serious question. "Nope, this is pretty much how we are all the time. Pretty fun, right?"

Cloud didn't answer, closing his eye once again and resuming his silence. "Anyways, did you really want to see how we fight?" Raziel asked, steering the conversation back on track. "Or were you just having one of those ideas that you forget about in a few seconds?"

"Nope, it would be cool!" Ruby said eagerly. "Like Yang said, when we were fighting the Grimm we were sort of… distracted. Besides you didn't even let your wing out against them. I don't think that you were really taking them seriously."

"Oh, we were." Raziel quickly shut down the idea. "But… well. Don't worry about it. If things had gotten dangerous, then we would have actually gotten truly serious. Wastelanders are governed by different rules than you are when we use our semblance. We really aren't allowed to use them unless the contract really needs it."

"But doesn't that defeat the entire purpose of a semblance?" Blake asked. "To make fights easier, to increase your odds of survival?"

"I suppose, yes, if you were raised in the cities." Roxas shrugged. "But… for us using semblances is sort of looked down upon. Like, we are really only supposed to do it against other hunters. Using it against Grimm, well, it would make you lose credibility."

"That is just ridiculous." Weiss said, turning her nose up at the idea. "Why would using your semblance to survive ever be considered bad? You wastelanders really need to work on your sense of morals."

"Maybe." Raziel said, not willing to begin that argument. "Maybe not. In the meantime, do you have any idea where we can go for our little practice bout? We need somewhere a bit… open."

"Well there is always the cafeteria." Nora offered happily. "We had a huge fight there, it was awesome, and I hit Yang with a watermelon…" She continued to rattle off the details of the fight as the wastelanders listened with increasing disbelief and skepticism.

"The courtyard might be a better fit." Blake said, speaking a bit loudly to be heard over Nora's tale. "Plenty of open space."

"And plenty of people to see us." Raziel said, shaking his head as he shot the idea down. "No thanks, we need someplace with a bit of open area and privacy. We're still wastelanders. We don't want everyone to see our semblances."

"That makes sense." Pyrrha agreed, her eyes distant as she attempted to think of such an area. "What about the recreational building? It is completely empty right now, not a single piece of equipment."

"That sounds good." Raziel agreed. "How big is it?"

"Huge." Ruby said comfortingly. "You will have plenty of room to move around. You guys want to head over now?"

Raziel glanced around the room at his team and they each nodded their agreement. "Sure." He said, grabbing his swords from where they rested on his bed and strapping them across his back. "Let's go. But before we go, I should warn you. Stay as far away from us as you can. Our fights tend to be a little… much. To an outsider it may even look like we are trying to kill one another. Rest assured, that is not the case."


	14. Ninety Percent

The four wastelanders stood facing one another in the center of the arena, their weapons drawn and readied before them. The members of teams RWBY and JNPR were seated in the relative safety of the stands that lined the arena where the wastelanders now stood. There was none of the normal friendly antagonism on any of their faces', each one of them looking to the others with eyes as cold as ice. "How far do we go?" Axel asked, his voice containing a slight tone of mockery. His chakrams hung loosely at his side, tongues of flame occasionally falling from them. "It's been a while since we got to actually cut loose."

"I won the mission bet." Cloud said quietly, his eyes flicking from one member of his team to the next. "Let's go ninety percent."

"Still have that coin?" Roxas asked, a keyblade in each hand. "Flip it. We start when it hits the ground."

Cloud obligingly reached into the folds of his coat and withdrew the coin, flipping it far into the air and assuming a ready stance. Time seemed to slow around the wastelanders as they waited for the sound of the metal hitting the floor. Several things happened at once when the ringing sound echoed through the arena. Beams of light shot out from the air around Roxas, lancing out towards Axel. The red haired man disappeared among a furious inferno of flame that surrounded him and protected him from the assault of the light rays. The bandages that had been wrapped around Cloud's sword were left fluttering to the ground, the blonde haired man quite gone. Raziel whipped around, his blade meeting with Cloud's at the last possible second. He had grievously miscalculated however, and Cloud took advantage of this. Cloud's massive sword split into two and he cut at Raziel with the newly emerged blade, forcing the captain back several feet and directly into Axel's chakram. Roxas lunged at Cloud, hoping to get a quick strike in, but the blonde haired man disappeared once more.

Like before, Cloud appeared behind Roxas but this time the attack was halted immediately. Roxas grinned just as a black and white keyblade came spinning back to Roxas, striking Cloud in the back and sending him flying across the floor. All of this had taken place in the space of only a few seconds, and Raziel had just picked himself up when Axel attacked. A chakram, wreathed in a massive circle of flame, came spinning at him from the side only to be batted away by the newly emerged white wing. Raziel flexed his wing just as Axel caught his chakram and leveled one of its many points at him. "Letting the wing out already, just to stop that?" He taunted, flames roaring up from the floor around him. "I'm so _flattered_!"

"I owe you for that last hit." Raziel said, leveling his own blade at Axel. The words were barely out of his mouth when Axel, a trail of flame behind him, lunged at Raziel.

While this was happening Roxas had taken the offensive to Cloud, his keyblades effectively countering Cloud's constant disappearance. At least, until Cloud disengaged a third blade from his main sword. Roxas scowled as his keyblades clashed against the two Cloud currently held, keenly aware of the blade currently spinning in the air above them. Striking out at Roxas with aggressive cuts, he pushed the keyblade wielder back just far enough for him to disappear once more, just after impaling two swords into the ground where he had been standing. He materialized in the air above Roxas, grabbing the blade that he had thrown into the air in his free hand. Now, with two blades in hand, Cloud disappeared once more to appear in front of Roxas. A slight blue aura had begun to envelop Cloud and he narrowed as he cut at Roxas, still too far for the attack to even merit blocking. Roxas, eyes widening, only just managed to raise his keyblades in a crossed defensive position before something struck against them, hard.

"So, that's how it's going to be Cloud?" Roxas grinned at him, letting the keyblades fall from his hands as he held them outstretched at his side. The weapons dematerialized when they hit the ground, just as Roxas took several slow steps back. "Using all those swords?"

Cloud said nothing in response, swinging a vicious vertical cut in Roxas's direction. The keyblade wielder smiled as he intercepted the invisible strike with a jet of light. "But that's okay." Roxas told him sincerely, rising slightly into the air. "You aren't the only one with multiple weapons."

Flashes of multicolored lights began to appear around Roxas, each one of the lights revealing a different keyblade. Cloud's eyes narrowed further and he made a sound of disgust before unleashing an assault of slashes towards Roxas. Roxas grinned and met each invisible attack with a keyblade, maneuvering them with his hands.

A loud explosion rocketed the arena as Axel's chakram, wreathed in blue flames, clashed against the red and black sword of Raziel. The force of the explosion pushed both combatants back, their feet skidding against the arena's floor. The site of the explosion had opened up a crater in the floor, matching the several others that had sprung up during their clash. The ground was red hot beneath their feet, the floor charred with the remnants of flames. "Come on then, Raziel." Axel taunted. "Cloud said ninety percent. Let's see that other wing!"

Raziel responded with a vicious glare, tightening his grip on his remaining sword. "Sorry Axel." He barked, flexing his wing. "I don't want to end this too quickly."

"Wow, I guess you have a high opinion of yourself." He said, releasing his hold on his chakrams only for them to float at his side. He slowly raised his hands to his chest, the chakrams spinning rapidly in place as he did. "But let's see how you handle _this_!"

A tremendous heat began to fill the arena, one that made the previous temperature seem like a veritable snowstorm. Raziel felt the air scorch against his lungs, the metal on his coat burning against his flesh. The chakrams had begun to spin around Axel, each rotation bringing more intense heat to the arena.

Pillars of flame had just started to erupt with random intervals around the arena when the entire building gave a violent shake, surprising the combatants. The heat immediately dissipated as a very stern and very angry voice demanded, " _WHAT ARE YOU FOOLS DOING HERE?!"_ Professor Goodwitch strode onto their battlefield, her riding crop at her side. The crop flicked out and the rubble quickly began to return itself to where it had come from. The scorch marks on the ground disappeared as did the other evidence of their battle "Were you trying to destroy this building?!"

"Not particularly." Axel said, his chakrams disappearing in a burst of fire. "We could have though."

"It wasn't a challenge, brat!" Glynda snapped, crossing her arms and glaring at them. "These premises are to be used _only_ for official Beacon training purposes. You are not permitted to spar here whenever you so choose."

"Would you have preferred us to do it in the courtyard, like that Atlas specialist and the scythe user?" Cloud asked quietly. "If not, you shouldn't have a problem with us using this place."

"Neither are acceptable places!" She snapped angrily, turning her attention to the spectators as they attempted to sneak out of the building before being seen. "And do not presume for a moment that I have forgotten about any of you!"

"Uh, sorry!" Ruby called pitifully. "We didn't mean to cause you any trouble, professor."

"Well you did regardless." She said, pointing her riding crop threateningly towards them. "We were alerted to what sounded like a battle taking place on the grounds of the academy! You are lucky that they reported the noise to me and not to the military. I am not sure what would have happened to you should that have happened."

Whatever response she had expected, a burst of dark laughter from the wastelanders was not it. "The military?" Roxas asked, striding over to the professor. "You mean those robots? Look, no offense, but they don't really seem like all that hard to take. That scythe guy took out two in like, a second. Maybe if that Specialist had come around, then we would have had a bit of a problem. But-."

"You are missing the point." Glynda said, suddenly tired of yelling. "This tournament has many different facets. Good relations among the academies and cities is one of them. What Qrow-, I mean, what that scythe user did was not to the benefit of Beacon Academy. We would rather avoid any further incidents that may cast our academy in a dim light."

"So, no more fights while the tournament is going on?" Axel asked, sighing resignedly when Glynda nodded. "Fine, we will behave ourselves. We didn't mean to cause a fuss, we were just a little…. Stir crazy."

"Which is understandable among your people." Glynda nodded.

"Our people?" Raziel asked softly, curiosity in his tone.

"Wastelanders." Glynda said simply. She smiled slightly at the surprised expressions that they sent her way. "What, did you truly think that you were the first wastelanders I have met? I… crossed paths… with several in my time as an active huntress. I know well how your people get when they are not actively engaged in some sort of activity. So, how about a resolution of sorts?"

"A resolution?" Cloud asked curiously. "Like what?"

"As I am sure you understand, more people in Beacon means that there has been an increase in Grimm activity on the city's borders." She observed the smiles that the wastelanders wore and continued, "I assume, by your expressions, that you are amicable to the task I have in mind?"

"Nothing like hunting a few Grimm to keep you on your toes." Axel said, cracking his knuckles in anticipation.


End file.
